Working My Way Back To You
by kylie90210
Summary: An Emma, Spinner, Manny, Jay, Paige and Sean centric story set after their departure. Sean is back in Toronto, setting off a chain of events which will change all of their lives.


Chapter One

Emma Nelson sighed as she took in the mess of a kitchen in the loft that she rented in Downtown Toronto. Her husband Spinner Mason was still asleep, and so was her best friend Manny Santos. This mess had to have been made by the only roommate who started work early – Jay Hogart, Manny's boyfriend. Emma knew she should have been used to it by now, as much as she tried not to nag Jay about the kitchen, he always seemed to leave a trail of destruction behind him. Really though, how many kitchen utilities did you need for cereal, milk and a cup of coffee? Emma put the kettle on, and started to load the dishwasher. She knew it wasn't her responsibility to clean this mess, but Spinner worked in this environment all day long, he didn't need to wake up to it. Likewise, Manny helped out at the Vibe, the café Spinner managed, by waitressing a few days a week, and she certainly didn't need and wouldn't appreciate this mess.

As Emma loaded the last spoon into the dishwasher, the kettle finished boiling, and she started to make her morning cup of green tea. A towel covered head popped around the corner of the wall separating the bathroom from the rest of the living areas, and Emma almost jumped.

"Manny! What are you doing up so early?" she asked, eyeing her best friend.

"Showering," Many said, removing the towel from her hair, and walking into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee for herself.

"Jay made me breakfast before my casting call this morning," she told Emma, pulling her robe around her to stop it from slipping, "it's early and Spin gave me the morning off to get ready. You'd know that if you actually got home at a decent hour for once," Manny chided as she gently stirred the coffee she had made while talking.

Emma grimaced slightly, though Manny's comment wasn't off the mark. She _had_ been working a lot, and she was well aware of it. She just didn't realise that her roommates were affected by it.

"You have a casting call?" Emma asked, smiling at Manny, and ignoring the stinging remark.

"That's amazing! For what?" she asked, sipping her tea now it had cooled slightly.

Manny obviously wasn't that upset, as she launched excitedly into telling Emma all about it.

"It's for this new teen drama being filmed right here in Toronto," she told her, and before Emma could interrupt, she added, "I know. I'm not a teen. But my agent says they prefer having young adults play the teens, because there's less legal issues and scheduling conflicts or something. Besides, don't I look like a sixteen year old Queen Bee with Daddy issues?" she asked, striking a pose.

Emma laughed, "I think you'd need to layer your hair and re-attach Craig to look sixteen again," she said, rolling her eyes. As Manny reached out to smack her, Emma giggled and jumped out of her way.

"I'm kidding! But ugh, why would you want to go back to those days?" she said, wrinkling her nose.

"What, the Craig and Sean days?" Manny said, sipping her own coffee, "you mean, you don't miss bailing your bad ass boyfriend out of jail, while I watch mine snort his future away?"

"I more meant the bad hair and constant drama. Plus, I had like no boobs," Emma said, nudging her friend with her shoulder.

"Imagine telling sixteen year old Emma and Manny they'd be married to and living with Jay Hogart and Spinner Mason," Manny said, shaking her head, "they'd think we were coo coo bananas."

"Sixteen year old Emma would," Emma said, putting her cup of tea down and grabbing an organic muesli bar out of a cupboard, "sixteen year old Manny would probably be in hormone overdrive," she teased her friend.

"I should get going. Tell Spin I'll call him later, and Manny?" Emma paused, reaching out and hugging her best friend quickly, "good luck. I know you can do this," she said, pulling back and giving her a wave.

"Text me as soon as you know!"

One of the main things Emma loved about working for the Toronto Environmental Alliance was how close it was to the loft and the Vibe Café where Spinner and Manny worked. She was at her desk in about 20 minutes, having walked the whole way. It made her feel like she really was accomplishing something for the Environment, because the rest of her job certainly didn't. Emma was what some people would call an Office Girl. She herself joked she was the Phone Bitch, because that's almost all she ever did. That and scan documents, and file them on their electronic filing system. They tried to be as paperless as possible, which was sometimes difficult when their computer systems crashed due to a lack of funds for upkeep. But Emma liked to think she was making a difference, although this was not at all what she had in mind when she got the job.

As her morning wore on, Emma started to get a headache from the incessant phone ringing. It seemed particularly bad today, and maybe it added to Emma's bad mood, or created it, she wasn't sure. But by lunch time, when her computer crashed for the second time, she had to get away from her desk. She asked one of the support guys to watch the phones for fifteen minutes, and she grabbed her bag. She normally dropped in to see Spinner for lunch, but today she knew if she saw him, she'd start to cry. She just felt so frustrated right now. It wasn't Spinners fault, but she didn't want him to think he could do anything to make her feel better, because he couldn't. She's dropped out of Smithdale, and now she was the one with the lack of qualifications to get a job doing what she wanted to do, instead of watching other people do it all day while she answered phones. Taking a shaky breath as she reached the stairs, she tried to calm herself down. Everyone had jobs they didn't enjoy, and worked constantly. This was what being an adult was about, and she just had to suck it up. Still, she felt her eyes tear up, and she tried desperately to fight the tears away. Just as she was about to open the door, it swung towards her, and she jumped back.

"Oh!" she said, widening her eyes. When she saw her boss Chris standing in the now open doorway, she blushed. How embarrassing.

"Sorry Emma," he said, moving to make room for her to get by. He stopped, however, when he got a closer look at her.

"Emma?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"Are you okay?"

It was a simple question, but it caused the built up tears to start flowing down Emma's face, as she hurriedly tried to wipe them away.

"It's nothing, really," she told Chris, giving him a weak smile.

"It doesn't look like nothing," he said, returning her smile with a genuine one, "would you like to talk about it?"

Emma shook her head, but then realised that this might actually be a chance for her to do something about her job. She hesitated, then nodded.

"Actually Chris… I was hoping to talk to you about something," she told him, desperately trying to not get upset again.

"It's just… I'd really love to be out there, doing something for the organisation, and not just behind my desk answering phones all day," she told him, then realised how ungrateful she sounded, so she added, "not that I don't appreciate having a job! I just… really love what this place stands for, and I want to be making a difference…"

Chris looked at her for a moment, before nodding seriously.

"I love your passion Emma, I really do. That's the main reason I hired you for this job. But can I be honest?" he asked her, leaning against the door frame. Emma nodded, and Chris continued, "you're not qualified enough for the kind of job you want. I'm sorry," he said gently.

Emma took a deep breath, and forced a smile on to her face. She nodded. It all came back to this, of course.

"I know that Chris… I guess I was just feeling a little overwhelmed today," she said, putting on a brave face. He studied her for a few moments, then nodded.

"I have something I'd like to show you in my office," he told her, "meet me there after work, okay?" He gave her one last smile, and moved out of the doorway, leaving Emma looking after him. She didn't know what they meant, but at least she had something to work towards. For today.

Jay had had a crazy busy morning. He was pretty much the Senior Mechanic now, and his boss expected a lot from him. Jay was happy to deliver, he loved his job, his life and mostly, his girl. It had been a rocky road there for awhile with him and Manny, but they'd made it. Jay had a feeling that they really could make it through anything, and he was banking on it. He thought of the little black box he kept in his lockable tool box, and smiled. He planned on making her his girl for life, and he knew there wouldn't ever be anyone else for him.

Thinking of Manny made him realise she was probably done with her casting call. He reached into his pocket for his phone, to see if he had any messages from her, but instead saw one from a number he didn't recognise.

_hey man, u free tonight to catch up? Im back in Toronto & its been 2 long – sean._


End file.
